NASRUDIN AND THE KEY

Nasrudin was searching intently for something under a streetlight. His neighbour went up to him and asked what he was doing. Nasrudin answered, "I have lost my key." The neighbour joined him in searching for the key. Sometime later the neighbour asked, "Do you know exactly where you dropped the key?" Nasrudin replied, "Oh, yes. I dropped it in the kitchen." Surprised by this answer and a little annoyed, the neighbour said, "Then what are you doing here?" Nasrudin answered, "The light is much better here, it is dark in the kitchen."

Discustion:

We all are searching for something. Maybe we are looking for a certain security, or maybe happiness or peace or love. We somehow believe that we will get them at the place where it is easy - under the streetlight. But just like Nasrudin, we will only find the key where we lost it, not where it is easy to look. We did not lose our happiness in other people. Yesterday, we did not even know the wonderful people that we know today. We didn't lose our peace in some geographical location. We forget that peace, love and happiness are always within us and it is only inside ourselves that we can find these most precious treasures once again.

This universal problem is illustrated by another story about the queen, who lost her necklace. She had the entire royal household spend the whole day searching for the necklace but finally found it herself - around her neck!

How do we come to be in this state? At the deepest level, it is a question of lost identity: Who am I?

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LLOYD

Little Lloyd was visiting another family with his parents. The hosts wanted to entertain Lloyd, so they brought out some toys for him to play with. Lloyd liked these toys so much that he wanted to take them home. His mother explained to him that he couldn't take them away, but that he could play with them there, in the friends' house, all day. This was not good enough for Lloyd and he threw a tantrum. He was so distraught that his parents finally decided to take him home without his having played with the toys at all.

Discustion:

His 'passion' for the toys actually made him unhappy, rather than happy. It became more important for him to make them 'mine', than to actually enjoy playing with them. Because he could not take them home, he felt that he had already lost them. As a result he experienced all the sorrows of the world.
Are we very different from young Lloyd? Maybe the toys are different and take the form of a job, a relationship, a house, a hobby or an experience.
So, how would a wise Lloyd view the toys? He would see that they are great toys and enjoy playing with them there and then. Then, when he was at home, he would play with what toys were there. If, another time, there were no toys to play with, he would have fun inventing his own toys and games.
Real wisdom is the ability to enjoy and appreciate every situation and see it as an opportunity.

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THE STORY OF THE FOX AND HIS SHADOW

A fox gets up early in the morning and sees its shadow. The shadow is very, very big and so the fox thinks, "Goodness, I didn't realise I was so big but, since I am, I will need an elephant for my breakfast." He searches all day for an elephant but he cannot find one and so he is unhappy.

Discustion:

Betty was from an extremely privileged background. She was pretty, rich, from a good family and everyone around her was very nice to her. But Betty constantly complained about everything. Either she did not receive the right kind of gift, or she was not invited to some party, or felt she was not respected or loved enough. Everyone tried to please her but her demands just continued to increase. There was also in the neighbourhood a young man called Dan, who was disabled and dependent on his family for his physical care. There were considerable limitations as to what Dan could achieve in his life but he would always say that life was a wonderful gift. The sparkle in his eyes conveyed those feelings to everyone he met.
What is the difference between the Betty and Dan? What makes the privileged complain about life and the disadvantaged appreciate everything?
The difference is the shadow. Just like the fox, we create an image of ourselves. When the shadow gets bigger, we start looking for an elephant to eat. Nothing is good enough. In fact, we may create many shadows and each of them has demands. One wants bigger gifts, another more respect, another more love, another a bigger hat. Nothing is good enough, because the shadows are getting larger. Betty has a big shadow. Dan has a smaller shadow or possibly no shadow. When there are no shadows, life is experienced as a gift.
It is worth questioning on what grounds we make demands on this life. They may be small demands, based on food or friends, or that we should be treated in a certain way, or even that we should have a healthy body. But on what grounds do we make these demands? Simply because we had food, friends, respect and health yesterday, we expect to have the same today. Yet many on this planet did not have any of these things yesterday. Maybe today it will be their turn to have them. There is no reason for the world to owe us a favour in preference to others who are less fortunate. We should therefore question the basis of our demands on family and friends, the environment, our bodies and even God. But we do have demands because our shadows have become bigger, like Betty's. If we were to drop these shadows then we would drop our demands. We would not take anything for granted. With no shadows, we would discover a sense of lightness, gratitude and appreciation. We would feel that our body is a gift and so we would not place any demands on it to be perfect. The very fact that we have friends is a gift. That there is a day at all, and there are clouds and trees around us, would all be seen as a gift. Nature does not owe us anything. When we think like this, life becomes a wonder.

When we create these shadows, we trap ourselves into a web of expectations. We may have to find a way to reduce the size of our shadows before we can use our wings.

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THE RAM AND SITA STORY

An Indian epic story called "The Ramayana" tells of a beautiful queen, Sita, who lives safely and happily with King Ram in their palace. The demon king, Ravan, wants to kidnap Sita, so he sends a golden deer near her palace. Sita is attracted to the golden deer and crosses the border into Ravan's kingdom to reach it. She was deceived by her attraction, her desire; under the skin of the golden deer was a demon and now she is Ravan's slave.

Discussion:

We all want freedom, no one chooses to be a slave, but it is a great paradox that we can become our own worst enemy. Only we can choose to be deceived and tie ourselves into bondages; that is, we make ourselves slaves and lose our freedom. We can also learn to become our own best friend.

The Prison Model

In this model, we have a prisoner and a prison officer. The prisoner is completely dependent on the prison officer for his food, entertainment, peace and happiness. The prison officer can choose to make the prisoner comfortable and happy or he can starve him and make him unhappy. The prisoner has no choice; someone else chooses for him.
Now let us take an example of a man who appears to be free and reasonably happy. Then he meets a certain woman. Initially, her behaviour did not affect him. Let's say that if she were to dye her hair pink, it wouldn't affect him.
As years go by, they get to know each other better, become close and eventually get married. Let's take up a scene a few years later. One day the woman comes home with pink coloured hair. How will he respond this time? His reaction will definitely be different. It may make him unhappy, angry even.
A few years earlier, the presence or absence of that woman did not affect him. Now her behaviour, attitude and words all affect him. What has changed? He has found a prison officer in the woman. She is now in charge of making him happy or unhappy. But she did not choose to become the prison officer, it was his ignorance that put him in prison and the prison presented itself the moment he created expectations of her. Once an expectation is created, a master is born. The word "expectation" represents 'a desire that is taken for granted'.

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A Fishy Story

A man was fishing by the river. It was a very still, warm day and the river was very calm. The water was so clear that the fish, the bait and the fishing line were all visible. Most of the fish would come very close to the bait but then swim off. They would notice the bait, the float and the cord and then go away. Only the stupid ones took the bait. Those who did certainly experienced some excitement for a few seconds but soon found themselves in the frying pan!

Discustion:

Fishermen cannot harm fish as long as the fish have no attraction to the bait. However, if the fish are attracted to the bait, the game changes. The fisherman becomes the master, because he can now decide the life or death of the fish. The fish are at his mercy. In this life, we lose our freedom when we get attracted to the big and small baits of the world. When we create a need, we become dependent upon others or circumstances to fulfil it. We are then no longer free. It is as though the objects and circumstances become our masters. We become subservient.

"One with fewer needs has fewer masters."

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The Cat, the Dog, and the Cat Flap

A boy was taking his little dog, Freddy, for a walk along the river. He had with him some of Freddy's favourite toys. They were having a great time until they came to the house where Misty, the cat, lived. Misty was in the garden, enjoying the afternoon sun. Distracted by the cat, Freddy jumped into the garden and started to chase her. Misty raced into the house through the cat flap. By this time Freddy had become obsessed with catching her.

He pushed his way through the cat flap and raced into the house. Misty climbed onto a bookshelf out of the reach of poor Freddy. No one else was in the house. Freddy started rking and leaping up and down, breaking anything that got in his way. He was getting exhausted but couldn't stop himself. He had totally forgotten about the fun he had been having on his riverside walk. He was possessed by his 'passion' to catch Misty and was using all his energy barking, biting and breaking.

Discustion :

Are we very different from Freddy? Possibly not. We all start with having a great time in our own way, until we see Misty and get lost in a passion. Misty may present herself in the form of people, position or possessions. But once we become passionate, we lose discrimination. Our original happiness and peace are gone. Thus, like Freddy, we can end up barking, biting, breaking and sometimes bragging. In fact, we humans have already been pulled through a few cat flaps and are busy looking for further cat flaps to enter.
In theory, once Freddy finds himself in a passion about catching Misty, there could be a squirrel further on and a rabbit further still. So he could go on and on chasing innumerable passions and going through many cat flaps until he died without ever remembering the fun he had been having with the toys and his Master by the river.
Is this a description of the state of human affairs at the moment?

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The Lion and The Bird

A river had broken its banks and the water was rising rapidly. A bird was perched on the branch of a tree, flapping around and shouting to every passer-by, "Help! Help! Please help me! Please do something!"

Just then a lion was making his daily round through the rising waters. Seeing the lion, the bird called out "Oh, King of the beasts! Help me! The water is rising and I will be drowned. Please save me!"

The lion looked at the bird and said,
"You have wings."

Discustion:

You Have Wings is about setting ourselves free. Free from the limitations and restrictions that we unknowingly place on ourselves.
When we learn to see things differently, our lives become easier, happier and more successful.
The message is simple and the method is simple. However, in today's world we have learnt to make simple things complex. Our journey will be much easier, if we become like children once again and to see with innocence and simplicity.

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